Japanese PM warns US of strained ties over block on steel merger deal
File photo shows Japanese and U.S. flags displayed side by side. (AFP Photo)
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed concerns to U.S. President Joe Biden over his decision to block Japanese Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel.
Ishiba warned that the move has raised alarms among businesses in both nations, emphasizing their roles as each other’s largest foreign investors.
The comments were made during a three-way call with the president of the Philippines, which, according to the White House, also addressed China‘s “dangerous and unlawful” actions in the region.
Citing national security concerns, Biden nixed Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel earlier this month, irking close ally Japan where the United States has some 54,000 military personnel.
“I said that strong voices of concerns are being raised not just in Japan but also in the US business community, and I urged (Biden) to dispel these feelings,” Ishiba told reporters after the call on Monday. Blocking a takeover by a Japanese firm is highly unusual and both firms have launched legal action, accusing the outgoing U.S. president of “illegal interference”.
Nippon Steel had touted the acquisition as a lifeline for its struggling U.S. rival, but opponents warned the Japanese group would slash jobs despite its assurances to the contrary. The takeover, which was announced in 2023, came in the run-up to last year’s U.S. presidential election and proved a political flashpoint.
U.S. Steel is based in the swing state of Pennsylvania and both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris opposed the transaction.
Japan and US: Largest foreign investors of each other
Japanese firms invested almost $800 billion in the United States in 2023, more than any other country, and 14.3% of the total, according to official U.S. data. U.S. firms are also the biggest outside investors in Japan.
Japan is also a close strategic ally for Washington as it seeks to counter China asserting its presence in contested areas of the South China Sea. Both steel companies said Sunday that U.S. authorities have extended the deadline for unwinding the acquisition until Jun. 18.
Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who will attend Trump’s inauguration as U.S. president on Jan. 20, said it was important not to undermine the “big picture” of bilateral ties.
Iwaya also said that while in Washington he would seek talks with Marco Rubio, slated to be Trump’s Secretary of State, and to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Ishiba and Trump. Kyodo News cited government sources as saying that this could take place before mid-February.
During Trump’s first term, he and Japan’s then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe enjoyed warm relations. In December, Trump met Abe’s widow at Mar-a-Lago.
‘US allies’
In recent years, with an eye on China, Washington has sought to improve strategic relations with both Japan and the Philippines as well as with South Korea.
Biden, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos and Ishiba’s predecessor Fumio Kishida held talks at the White House last April. In another first, in 2023 Biden hosted Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol─who briefly imposed martial law last month─at Camp David.
Last year the Philippines ratified a key defense pact with Japan, which allows them to deploy troops on each other’s soil. On Monday Biden, Marcos and Ishiba “discussed trilateral maritime security and economic cooperation, as well as the People’s Republic of China’s dangerous and unlawful behaviour in the South China Sea,” the White House said. “The three Leaders agreed on the importance of continued coordination to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific,” said a statement, which made no mention of the steel deal.
Marcos’s office said that the call was to “reaffirm their commitment to strengthening cooperation in areas such as economic growth, emerging technologies, climate action, clean energy and regional security”.
Biden also “highlighted the ‘historic progress’ made, particularly in maritime security, economic security and technological collaboration” between the three countries, the Philippines statement said.
